Factors Influencing Maize Sales Among Smallholder Farmers in Zambia

Jimaima, Mulala and Muzeya, Hamwende and Lwisha, Charity Mutale and Chizyuka, Henry and Chisata, Chitambo Muyunda (2025): Factors Influencing Maize Sales Among Smallholder Farmers in Zambia.

Abstract

Maize is both Zambia’s staple food crop and a key cash crop for smallholder farmers, yet the commercialization of maize production remains constrained by structural, economic, and institutional barriers. This study investigates the determinants of maize sales among smallholder farmers using nationally representative data from the 2015 Rural Agricultural Livelihoods Survey (RALS), covering over 8,800 agricultural households. A multiple linear regression model was employed to assess the influence of socioeconomic, farm-level, institutional, and market-related factors on maize sales. Results indicate that maize commercialization is primarily shaped by economic and production-oriented variables rather than socio-demographic characteristics. Specifically, higher maize prices, larger cultivated areas, the use of hired labor, coupled with higher transport costs significantly increase maize sales, while reliance on unreliable price information exerts a strong negative effect. Conversely, factors such as gender, age, education, and distance to market were statistically insignificant, suggesting that structural constraints affect all farmers equally. These findings highlight the need for systemic interventions that reduce transaction costs through improved infrastructure, strengthen access to timely and reliable market information, and enhance production capacity via land access, input provision, and labor support. By addressing these universal barriers, policymakers and development partners can facilitate the transition of Zambia’s smallholder farmers from subsistence to market-oriented production, thereby improving rural incomes, food security, and national agricultural commercialization.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Maize commercialization; Smallholder farmers; Food security; Transaction costs; Agricultural policy
• Subjects: Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q13 - Agricultural Markets and Marketing ; Cooperatives ; Agribusiness; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Biofuels ; Agricultural Extension Services; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q18 - Agricultural Policy ; Food Policy

References

Adam, R. I., Mmbando, F., Lupindu, O., Ubwe, R. M., Osanya, J., & Muindi, P. (2020). Beyond maize production: gender relations along the maize value chain in Tanzania. Journal of Gender, Agriculture and Food Safety, 5(2), 27-41.

Adisa, O. (2019). Why are some older persons economically vulnerable and others not? The role of socio-demographic factors and economic resources in the Nigerian context. Ageing International, 44(2), 202-222.

Adunola, M. P., Fayeun, L. S., & Fadara, A. B. (2021). Impact of climate change on armyworm infestation on maize in Nigeria: A review. Plant Breeding and Crop Science, 13, 158-167.

Aggarwal, S., Giera, B., Jeong, D., Robinson, J., & Spearot, A. (2024). Market access, trade costs, and technology adoption: Evidence from northern Tanzania. Review of Economics and Statistics, 106(6), 1511-1528.

Agholor, A. I., Ogujiuba, K., & Shongwe, I. N. (2023). Determinants of small farmers access to agricultural markets in South Africa. Agricultural Science & Technology, 15(1).

Alawode, A. (2025). Evaluating agricultural subsidy reforms and their effects on smallholder farmer income and efficiency. International Journal of Advance Research Publication and Reviews, 2(5), 180-201.

Ariga, J., Mabaya, E., Waithaka, M., & Wanzala‐Mlobela, M. (2019). Can improved agricultural technologies spur a green revolution in Africa? A multicountry analysis of seed and fertilizer delivery systems. Agricultural Economics, 50, 63-74.

Bates, R. H. (2019). Governments and agricultural markets in Africa. In The role of markets in the world food economy (pp. 153-183). CRC Press.

Burke, W. J., Jayne, T. S., & Sitko, N. J. (2020). Do medium‐scale farms improve market access conditions for Zambian smallholders?. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 71(2), 517-533.

Changalima, I. A., & Ismail, I. J. (2022). Agriculture supply chain challenges and smallholder maize farmers’ market participation decisions in Tanzania. Tanzania Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 21(1), 104-120.

Chapoto, A., & Jayne, T. S. (2019). Zambian farmers' access to maize markets. Gates Open Research, 3, 1168.

Gardner, T. A., Benzie, M., Börner, J., Dawkins, E., Fick, S., Garrett, R., ... & Wolvekamp, P. (2019). Transparency and sustainability in global commodity supply chains. World Development, 121, 163-177.

Giller, K. E., Delaune, T., Silva, J. V., Descheemaeker, K., Van De Ven, G., Schut, A. G., ... & van Ittersum, M. K. (2021). The future of farming: Who will produce our food?. Food Security, 13(5), 1073-1099.

Hajjar, R., Ayana, A. N., Rutt, R., Hinde, O., Liao, C., Keene, S., ... & Agrawal, A. (2020). Capital, labor, and gender: the consequences of large-scale land transactions on household labor allocation. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 47(3), 566-588.

Hlatshwayo, S. I., Ngidi, M., Ojo, T., Modi, A. T., Mabhaudhi, T., & Slotow, R. (2021). A typology of the level of market participation among smallholder farmers in South Africa: Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces. Sustainability, 13(14), 7699.

Hoayek, A., & Hamie, H. (2023). Measuring the competitiveness of commodity markets using price signals and information theory. Decision Making: Applications in Management and Engineering, 6(2), 126-149.

Jayne, T. S., Babu, S. C., Boughton, D., Hendriks, S. L., Mkandawire, E., Dorosh, P. A., & Savadogo, K. (2019). Building locally led agricultural policy analysis capacity: Lessons from experience in developing countries.

Kaiser, N., & Barstow, C. K. (2022). Rural transportation infrastructure in low-and middle-income countries: a review of impacts, implications, and interventions. Sustainability, 14(4), 2149.

Liao, R., Chen, Z., Sirisrisakulchai, J., & Liu, J. (2025). Enhancing rural economic sustainability in China through agricultural socialization services: A novel perspective on spatial-temporal dynamics. Agriculture, 15(3), 267.

Luiz, J. M., Kachika, K., & Kudzurunga, T. (2019). Negotiating new institutional logics: Market access amongst smallholder farmers in Zambia and Malawi. Society and Business Review, 14(4), 360-377.

Malesu, L. M., Syrovátka, P., & Wittmann, V. (2024). Smallholder maize farming in Zambia: A systematic review of challenges and opportunities. African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition & Development, 24(12).

Mamonov, V., & Poluektov, V. (2019). The impact of transport costs on sales in supply chains. In Energy Management of Municipal Transportation Facilities and Transport (pp. 820-829). Springer International Publishing.

Martey, E., Etwire, P. M., & Kuwornu, J. K. (2020). Economic impacts of smallholder farmers’ adoption of drought-tolerant maize varieties. Land Use Policy, 94, 104524.

Nachiappan, B., Rajkumar, N., Viji, C., Mohanraj, A., Karthikeyan, N., & Nagarajan, G. (2025). Enhancing access to information. In Leveraging Blockchain for Future-Ready Libraries (pp. 173-206). IGI Global.

Ncube, D. (2020). The importance of contract farming to small-scale farmers in Africa and the implications for policy: A review scenario. The Open Agriculture Journal, 14(1).

Ninh, L. K. (2021). Economic role of education in agriculture: evidence from rural Vietnam. Journal of Economics and Development, 23(1), 47-58.

Njavwa Mwila, T. (2021). Integrated management of fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (JE Smith)(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in maize (Zea mays L.) using climate smart approach at University of Zambia, Field Research Station (Doctoral dissertation, Haramaya University).

Nshimbi, C. C. (2020). The human side of regions: informal cross-border traders in the Zambia–Malawi–Mozambique growth triangle and prospects for integrating Southern Africa. Journal of Borderlands Studies, 35(1), 75-97.

Phiri, J., Malec, K., Majune, S. K., Appiah-Kubi, S. N. K., Gebeltová, Z., Maitah, M., ... & Abdullahi, K. T. (2020). Agriculture as a determinant of Zambian economic sustainability. Sustainability, 12(11), 4559.

Radeny, M. A., Mungai, C., Amwata, D., Osumba, J. J., & Solomon, D. (2020). Climate change, agriculture, food and nutrition security policies and frameworks in Kenya.

Rahman, M. M., Chowdhury, M. R. H. K., Islam, M. A., Tohfa, M. U., Kader, M. A. L., Ahmed, A. A. A., & Donepudi, P. K. (2020). Relationship between socio-demographic characteristics and job satisfaction: Evidence from private bank employees. American Journal of Trade and Policy, 7(2), 65-72.

Santpoort, R. (2020). The drivers of maize area expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa. How policies to boost maize production overlook the interests of smallholder farmers. Land, 9(3), 68.

Silva, J. V., Baudron, F., Ngoma, H., Nyagumbo, I., Simutowe, E., Kalala, K., ... & Thierfelder, C. (2023). Narrowing maize yield gaps across smallholder farming systems in Zambia: What interventions, where, and for whom?. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 43(2), 26.

Silwimba, N. P., & Chileshe, J. M. (2025). Assessment of influential behaviours affecting maize yield maximization among smallholder farmers in Zambia: A case study of Mkushi District. African Journal of Agricultural Science and Food Research, 18(1), 1-19.

Tambo, J. A., Matimelo, M., Ndhlovu, M., Mbugua, F., & Phiri, N. (2021). Gender-differentiated impacts of plant clinics on maize productivity and food security: Evidence from Zambia. World Development, 145, 105519.